Cervical polyradiculopathy caused by vertebral artery dissection

Cervical Artery Dissection

OBJECTIVE

Cervical artery dissection is a common cause of stroke in young adults. This article reviews the pathophysiology, etiology and risk factors, evaluation, management, and outcomes of spontaneous cervical artery dissection.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

Cervical artery dissection is believed to be a multifactorial disease, with environmental factors serving as possible triggers in patients who have a genetic predisposition to dissection formation. Cervical artery dissection can cause local symptoms or ischemic events, such as ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. Neuroimaging is used to confirm the diagnosis; classic findings include a long tapered arterial stenosis or occlusion, dissecting aneurysm, intimal flap, double lumen, or intramural hematoma. Patients with cervical artery dissection who present with an acute ischemic stroke should be evaluated for IV thrombolysis, endovascular therapy eligibility, or both. Antithrombotic therapy with either anticoagulation or antiplatelet treatment is used to prevent stroke from cervical artery dissection. The risk of recurrent ischemia appears low and is mostly limited to the first two weeks after symptom onset.

ESSENTIAL POINTS

Cervical artery dissection is a known cause of ischemic strokes. Current data show no difference between the benefits and risks of anticoagulation versus antiplatelet therapy in the acute phase of symptomatic extracranial cervical artery dissection, thereby supporting the recommendation that clinicians can prescribe either treatment. Further research is warranted to better understand the pathophysiology and long-term outcomes of cervical artery dissection.

Ischemic Cervical Myelopathy Caused by Vertebral Artery Dissection: The Clinical Utility of a Motor-evoked Potential Study

INTRODUCTION

Vertebral artery dissection (VAD) has been increasingly recognized as one of the important causes of ischemic stroke especially in young and middle-aged population. Rarely, VAD can involve the spinal cord, causing ischemic cervical myelopathy.

CASE REPORT

A 51-year-old man presented with sudden onset of weakness and hypesthesia involving right upper extremity, accompanied by posterior neck pain and headache. He also complained nonwhirling type of dizziness and nausea and he exhibited ataxic gait. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed acute infarction at the right cerebellar hemisphere and temporo-occipital lobe. Right VAD was identified by MR angiography and confirmed by transfemoral cerebral angiography. Because the selective proximal weakness of the right upper extremity and hypesthesia at C5 and C6 dermatomes was not be fully explained by the brain lesion, electrophysiological studies were performed. The motor-evoked potential studies revealed that the latency and central motor conduction time was prolonged in the right cervical and lumbosacral roots. These studies implied cervical myelopathy involving the right anterior column. Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine demonstrated high signal intensity of the right anterior column at C3-C4 level, which confirmed cervical ischemic myelopathy.

CONCLUSIONS

When there is diagnostic ambiguity between the upper and lower motor neuron lesions in VAD, motor-evoked potential study can be helpful to diagnose peripheral neurological complication of VAD.